Home Alone

I was by myself last Saturday, and I felt I'm free to do anything that I wanted. I didn't have to cook lunch which would sometimes take an hour or so, then a half hour to wash dishes and clean up. So, there I was contemplating what to have for lunch. In my fridge are sorts of left overs. There was the quesadilla left over when I had lunch at a Mexican fast food restaurant; left over Pasta e Fagioli, an Italian dish I made the other night; and 2 pieces of moldy chicken that I don't know what dish it was. I decided on having the pasta dish. I warmed up some of it, and put some aside, in case someone looks for it. I was out of grated Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over it, so I got a stick of mozzarella cheese and sliced it into small pieces and tossed on top of my pasta.

This is the leftover I put aside in the fridge.
Click image to enlarge

When I was done eating, I still felt hungry. I opened a box of crackers, and munched 6 pieces of it.

Still I was not full. I thought I'd have a handful of potato chips.

I devoured it in a few seconds. It was salty...too salty. I needed something to get that salty taste off of my mouth. I opened my fridge, and found nothing there. Then I found ice cream in the freezer.

Eureka! This is perfect. Ice cream! I scooped about half a cup of it and put it in a small bowl. Hmmm....yum! I was about to finish it when I started feeling guilty. I've been eating all this junk, and now I felt guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! I dumped the rest in the sink, and I drank a glass of water.

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I love this pasta dish. I copied it from a magazine some years ago. It's very filling; always a welcome dish at home, especially when we get tired of the usual pinakbet, adobo or sinigang.

Pasta e Fagioli

Ingredients:

1 carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 can (8-ounce) tomatoes*, cut up and undrained
1 can (8-ounce) tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cups cooked macaroni
1 can (15 1/4 ounces) dark red kidney beans**
Parmesan cheese, grated

Procedure:

Saute vegetables in olive oil until onions are transparent, but not browned. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Add macaroni and undrained kidney beans. Simmer 20 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve. Makes 4 servings.

*I have searched all over for an 8 ounce can of tomatoes, but could not find any. So, I buy the big can (15 1/4 oz or 16 oz) and use half of it. I wonder why it said 8 ounces can when there is none.

**This also comes in 16 ounces can.

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